Something to Live For
by TheBookNerd101
Summary: Annabeth Chase isn't anyone special. She's not popular, not famous, just a regular 16-year-old girl. She does have some reliable friends who always support her. But what happens when a new face by the name of Percy Jackson comes into her life? Will she finally be forced to tell the secret that she's kept hidden for so long? Percabeth, AU, Rated T
1. Make New Friends

**Author's Note**

**So this is going to be kind of a long author's note. First, this story has language and references to adult themes so just remember, I have forewarned you! Second, I'm going to describe some stuff. Okay, there will be some song lyrics at the beginning of the chapters. These will kind of describe the chapters that it's in. Also, I will have a quote from the next chapter at the end of the chapter. Just to tame your waiting rages a little. :) Third, I update on Tuesdays and Fridays. If it's not up on Tuesday of Friday, it either means I'm late or early. (If I'm early, I'll still update on Tuesday and Friday.) Okay, I think that's all that needs to be said! Enjoy! **

* * *

**Annabeth: Well this story seems okay.**

**Me: Yes. It _seems_ okay. *Tries to laugh evilly and fails* **

**Percy: I don't like the way you said seems. **

**Me: You shouldn't. **

**Rachel: I'm scared. **

**Me: Good. **

* * *

**Make new friends,  
but keep the old.  
One is silver,  
the other is gold.**

**A circle is round,**  
**it has no end.**  
**That's how long,**  
**I will be your friend.**

* * *

"Are you gonna eat that?"

Rachel pointed to my tray, which held my untouched ham sandwich. (Or at least that's what the cafeteria ladies said. To me, it looked more like frozen pink slime.)  
"How can you eat this stuff?" I asked.  
"Simple." she said as she took my 'sandwich'. "I didn't eat dinner last night."  
"Why not?" I asked. She has enough money to buy dinner. Rachel's parents are rich. And I mean rich. They have 2 beach houses, a lake house, a ski resort, a boat, a private jet, and a private island. If you think that's a lot, you should see their mansion. I'm pretty sure it would qualify as a castle. Plus, her parents spoil her, so I'm surprised that she didn't get to eat a 4-course-meal complete with a layered cake yesterday.  
"I was at a protest." she answered.  
Even though her parents spoil her, she's not really the 'spoiled' type of person. She likes going to protests and rallies to save the earth or something like that. She also likes community service, raising money for needy, and a bunch of other stuff that make her sound like a hero.  
Or at least she seems like a hero when compared to me.  
"So what does that have to do with not eating dinner?" I inquired.  
"Well, the protest ran a little late." she said. "We were trying to save this island with this endangered species. It's called the Spirit Bear. Did you know that they're basically black bears but with white fur? But they're genetically unique, so it counts as a different species. Oh, and they-"  
"Alright!" I interrupted, knowing she could go on for ages about this Spirit Bear. "Get to the point!"  
"Fine." she said. "Well the protest-wait, my hair is stuck in my zipper."  
Rachel has long curly red hair, so it gets stuck in a lot of places. (One time it got stuck in a bra, but that's another story.) She also has bright green eyes, and a splash of freckles on her nose. She kept pulling at her jacket, which was paint-splattered. Her jeans were paint-splattered too.  
Did I mention she likes to paint?  
Rachel finally got her hair out of the zipper and pumped her fist up in triumph. "Anyway," she continued. "The rally ran until 11, and then I had to finish my homework, so I slept right after that and I didn't eat."  
I nodded, then looked over to the other side of the table. Grover and Nico were just sitting down, talking about Mythomagic. Nico had on his usual black pants, shoes, shirt, and jacket. He was supposed to be in 8th grade, but he skipped kindergarten. He was paler than usual, but that might be my imagination. Grover had on a green shirt with blue jeans. His brown hair was a little messier than usual, but who knows.  
"Hades is obviously better." said Nico. "He can become invisible and kill you by just standing there! 500 attack power right there!"  
"That's only if you have the Helm of Darkness card. Pan can do panic without an extra card."said Grover. "Which is 450 attack, but if you add the Reed Pipes, it's 600."  
The two of them kept geeking out while Rachel and I kept rolling our eyes. Lunch was going the same way it usually does. Until we heard another tray slide onto our table.  
The newcomer brought a silence to our table. I analyzed him intently. He had dark hair, which looked windswept. He had green eyes, not quite as bright as Rachel's. He was tanned and had an athletic build, so he probably did sports. Overall, not bad looking.  
"Are you new here?" asked Rachel.  
The newcomer nodded.  
"Well, I guess we should introduce ourselves." said Grover. "I'm Grover, this emo guy here is Nico, the redhead is Rachel, and the blonde brains is Annabeth."  
"I'm NOT EMO!" yelled Nico.  
"My hair is AUBURN." complained Rachel.  
"Are you calling me dumb?" I asked hotly.  
Grover smiled at the newcomer. "Aren't they a lovely bunch?"  
"You're not much better, treehugger." said Nico.  
"I'm not a treehugger! I just care about the environment!" protested Grover.  
"That's what a treehugger is." said the newcomer.  
Grover glared at him. "Who's side are you on?"  
The newcomer laughed. "Well, I'm Percy Jackson. And I like the sea."  
"We weren't saying what we like." I said.  
Percy looked at me. "Well I learned something about all of you, so I might as well tell you something about me."  
I smirked. "Okay, Seaweed Brain."  
Percy raised his arms. "Oh c'mon, you can do better than that Wise Girl!"  
"Aw, you guys already have nicknames for each other!" teased Nico.  
"PERCY AND ANNABETH SITTIN IN A TREE! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" sang Rachel.  
"Real mature." I said sarcastically.  
Soon the five of us were joking like old friends. Percy did this thing where he tried to balance a straw on his lip, then ended up choking on it.  
He glared at me with watery eyes when I laughed. "Not funny!" he choked out.  
"On the contrary, it's very funny." I said.  
Another glare was sent in my direction.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-  
After lunch, I headed to my locker to get ready for biology. I just closed my locker door when a certain face with green eyes came up to me.  
"Hey, Annabeth." said Percy.  
"What do you want?"  
"Rachel told me you have biology too."  
"Oh, good. For a second I thought you were stalking me."  
"Oh I was. You just didn't see me because of my ninja skills."  
I laughed. "Alright then, Seaweed Brain. We better get to biology before we're late."  
Percy and I walked to the biology classroom. Most of the people there  
were goofing off. The jocks were throwing around a paper ball and the popular girls were sitting in the corner doing their nails. I sat down at the table in front of the teacher's desk. Percy sat next to me.  
"Don't you want to sit next to the guys?" I asked.  
"Well, I'd rather not sit next to them, it looks like they're having a spitball war."  
I was about to answer when I was interrupted with a girly giggle. I turned around to find one of the popular girls behind me. She had long blond hair, with a ton of makeup. She was wearing all the latest trends, an Abercrombie and Fitch shirt, a Forever 21 leather jacket, Aeropostale jeans, Uggs, and a Vera Bradley bag.  
What? I can be a girl.  
The girl gave a little wave with her hand. "Hi!" she said to Percy. "My name is Stacey. I'm guessing you're new?" Without waiting for Percy to answer she kept going. "Well if you need any help, here's my number." She handed Percy a slip of paper with a phone number on it. "You don't have to hang out with Chase here." she added in a not-so-quiet whisper. Then, she sashayed back to her giggling gang of girls.  
Through this whole thing Percy had seemed kind of dazed. I waved my hand in front of Percy's face. "Hello? Earth to Percy!"  
He did this kind of jump and smiled at me. "Oh, sorry. I was trying to tune her out. It didn't work. Why'd she call you Chase?"  
"It's my last name." I explained.  
Percy fiddled with his pencil. "She wasn't very nice." he said, looking at his shoes.  
"It's fine," I said, "I'm kinda used to it now. My friends and I aren't what you would call 'popular'."  
"I just feel like I should've helped you or something." he said, still looking down.  
"Really, it's fine." I assured him. "I can handle it."  
The door opened, and a girl I hadn't seen before walked in. I had expected it to be the teacher, old Mrs. Crums, but this girl was a lot younger. She had curly brown hair, and had this preppy look. She looked too old to be in high school, so she probably was a substitute.  
"Good morning class!" she said. "Your old teacher, Mrs. Bums I think, retired. Something about not wanting to teach a bunch of babbling baboons. But no matter! We'll have a great rest of the year together!" She wrote her name on the board. "My name is Ally Dawson, but please call me Ally, Miss Dawson, or Ally Dawson. I'm 25, so I basically just got out of college. I have a boyfriend, but I'd rather not bore you to death before class starts!"  
"We'll start by getting to know one another! Please state your name, first and last, and a fun fact about you! You can start first!" She pointed at me.  
"My name is Annabeth Chase." I said quietly. "And I, um, read a lot."  
Snickers and calls of 'Nerd!' started coming from the class, but they stopped pretty quickly.  
"My, you must have a ferocious glare!" Ms. Dawson said to Percy. "And what about you dear?"  
Percy turned around, and I must admit that he did have a ferocious glare. His face returned to normal, then he said, "My name is Percy Jackson. My father is an Olympian."  
"There must be a fun story behind that!" said Ms. Dawson.  
"Explains why he's so toned." 'whispered' Stacey.  
"How about you next then, since you already started talking."  
Stacey sat up confidently and said,"My name is Stacey LeRange and I think you're too peppy."  
Most of the class laughed, either wanting Stacey to like them or to impress her. I thought Ms. Dawson would get mad, but all she did was beam at Stacey. "I get that a lot." she said. "Next person please!"  
The process of introducing ourselves went on until we reached Josh Dupoint, then Ms. Dawson clapped her hands together. "Well! I think we're all warming up to each other. I will go over how I'll run the class. You'll never have pop quiz or homework-" A cheer went up at this. "-but you'll have a test every Friday."  
Nobody cheered at this. Ms. Dawson was greeted with angry silence. Percy and I exchanged an annoyed look.  
"It doesn't sound fun, but trust me, you won't regret it."  
Again, she was greeted with angry silence.  
"Well, we still have about fifteen minutes, what do you guys want to do?"  
"Let's hear about your so called boyfriend." said someone in the back.  
"Alright then!" said Mrs. Dawson. "My boyfriend's name is Austin. Austin Moon."  
Shouts erupted across the room.  
"THE Austin Moon?"  
"But then, you're Ally! His songwriter!"  
"Whoa!"  
"What are you doing here?"  
Ms. Dawson put her finger to her lips and everyone became silent.  
"Austin was offered a movie role here in Manhattan, he's playing Jim in the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie. I just finished college at MUNY, so we bought an apartment here. I'm working here for the time being. And then he did the sweetest thing. He proposed!"  
She showed us a shiny gold band with a diamond in the middle on her left ring finger. Lots of squeals from girls came from the room (including myself) and once again, she put her finger on her lips. Again, the class became silent.  
"Well, I think I've bored you enough with my love life." she said.  
"Oh, but we're not bored!"  
"Tell us more!"  
"When's the wedding?"  
"I'll tell you more later." she said. "But the bell's about to ring now."  
As if on cue, the bell rung and the whole class filed out.  
"That was an interesting biology class." I said.  
"Yep." replied Percy. "What class you have next?"  
"English with Mrs. Sutton."  
"Me too."  
"Well you're in for a surprise." I said. "Rachel, Nico, and Grover are all in that class too. And we have one more spot at our table."  
Percy pumped his fist in the air. "Yes! Score!"  
I laughed. "C'mon Seaweed Brain, let's go."  
When we got there, Rachel, Nico, and Grover were already there. They cheered with delight when they saw Percy with me.  
"Oh man. We're going to have so much fun." said Rachel.  
"Did you guys hear? There's a teacher who's Ally Dawson!" said Grover.  
"I know, we just had her." I said.  
"Tell us all about her!" said Nico.  
The whole time, we were just talking about Ms. Dawson. Actually, the whole class was talking the whole time because Mrs. Sutton got a call from the hospital about her son, and left us alone the rest of the period.  
It also turned out Percy had math and art with me, so we ended up walking to all of our classes together.  
Mr. Herbert gave us a pop quiz in math. I finished early, and Percy didn't have to do it since he was new, so we passed notes.  
_You wanna hang later?_ He wrote.  
_Can't._ I wrote. _Busy._  
_Bummer._ He wrote back.  
And we talked all of art too, because it's one of the only classes we can talk. Plus, Mrs. King is nice about it.

The five of us walked out of the doors. Rachel, Nico, Grover, and Percy all walked off together because they lived in the same area. I walked off in the opposite direction.  
Most of the kids in Goode High live in the suburbs, in three story houses. But I don't. I take the bus into the city and walk two blocks to my apartment.  
I take out my keys and unlock the door. As soon as I do, the stench of beer and cigarettes fill my nose. I glance at the mess in front of me.  
_Yep._ I think. _I'm going to be very busy tonight._

* * *

**So that's the first chapter of STLF folks! Review please! **

**I forgot to do this at the top so, DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN PJO. **

**Okay, next chapter quote is from, Annabeth! **

**"Do you know how hard it is to pretend you don't love someone? And even if he's done horrible things to you, you know that deep down, you still love him because you think he'll change."**


	2. Demons

**Author's Note: **

**I just ate a whole bunch of Rolos while writing this. I feel fat. **

**I made a cover for STLF! Check it out, it should be there with the story.**

**So, I was going to post yesterday, but then I thought, wouldn't one long chapter be better than two short ones? So, I wrote more in this chapter. Also I came up with something. It's about updating early. **

**That got your attention. So, I've decided that for every 20 reviews, I will update early. Keep in mind that it doesn't mean I'll update when I get twenty reviews. It means I will update _extra_ for every 20 reviews. **

**Speaking of reviews, I would like to thank all the people who reviewed the first chapter. **

**Ble fotia, .Dream, LeviosaLove, ArtIllustrator **

**I really appreciated it! It made my day. Thanks! **

**I'd also like to thank my new followers and favorites. You guys are awesome! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. **

* * *

**Annabeth: You are so mean! **

**Me: Sorry dear, but you're in MY world now! *Cackles* (Is that a word? I think it is.) **

**Annabeth: Why can't the others comment? **

**Me: They can't know about this Annie! Well, not yet... **

**Annabeth: What do you mean, not _yet_? And don't call me Annie! **

**Me: Oh, you'll see ANNIE! **

* * *

**When you feel my heat,**

**look into my eyes. **

**It's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide. **

**Don't get too close, **

**it's dark inside. **

**It's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide. **

* * *

I wasted no time at all. I dropped my backpack off in my room, along with my jacket. Then, I started going around the living room picking up the mess. Clothes were scattered all over the floor, along with beer bottles, cigarettes, and what looked like cocaine. I disposed of all of it in the trash, carefully avoiding the cocaine. Then, I threw all the dirty clothes in the laundry and poured in laundry detergent. I started the wash cycle and went out of the washroom. The living room looked slightly better after I picked up the trash, but it still needed to be vacuumed, swept, and the curtains were wet, so they needed to be changed. I did all those things. By the time I finished, it was already 5:30. I decided I should start making dinner.

Now before you go all "Wow, you're so responsible!" and "She's such a good person!" I didn't do this because I wanted to. I didn't do it because I felt obligated to. No, I did it because I was forced to.

Let me shed some light on this situation. And sit tight because this is a long story.

I guess this starts with my parents. My dad was a pilot, but he died when I was 10 because an airplane's engine failed. My mom and I missed him and still do today, but as she said, life moves on even if you're not ready for it. My mom is a rich doctor. I know she cares about me, but since she's a doctor, she never has time to. She married another man, and he cared for me. In her eyes, I was safe with him. He was a loving and kind father after all. He gave me everything and treated me like his own. I really liked him and I saw him as my new father. My love for my father had been transferred to him. When I was 12, they got a divorce, because she thought that she wasn't being committed to their relationship. The man agreed, because he thought so too. She still didn't have to take care of me, so she asked the man to. He said that he'd love to have me. She still sends us child care money, and it's way above the requirement.

Only when I moved in with my stepdad, he showed his true colors showed. His real name was Reed Wilson, but he wanted me to call him sir all the time. He was a cruel, vindictive, and hypocritical man. He liked going to bars, having parties, sex, doing drugs, stuff like that. He always made me in charge of cleaning up his messes, making dinner, etc. He'd take most of the child support money for his purposes. He usually leaves just enough for the bare necessities and one shopping spree per year. He comes home every day at 7 pm, then leaves at 8 am and doesn't come back until 7 the next day. He expects dinner from me and a clean apartment when he gets home.

The mess had probably been one of his parties.

I started making some spaghetti, which was my favorite. My mom always made it when I was little. While the pasta was heating, I tried to finish my homework, which I accomplished. When the pasta was done, I got some tomato sauce from the refrigerator and mixed it in with the pasta. I set two plates of pasta on the table and grabbed a fork. I sat down in the chair against the wall.

And then I heard the door click.

In he walked. He didn't stumble in, so that meant he wasn't drunk like usual. But suspect he had a bad game of poker or something, because he had a scowl that would scare lions on his face.

"I see you cleaned up." he spat.

"I-um y-you're early. I-It's only five-thirty."

He looked at me distastefully. "Don't greet me like that, and don't stutter."

I looked down at my plate of spaghetti. "Yes sir."

He walked into the living room, probably looking for anything wrong with it. I stared down at my spaghetti, not daring to eat it. I am pretty sure I sat there with a grumbling stomach for at least fifteen minutes before Reed came back looking both triumphant and angry.

"What's this?" he held up a single black sock.

"It's a sock sir." I replied quietly.

"Don't be a smartass." said Reed. "And speak louder!"

"Yes sir." I said a little bit louder this time.

"You thought you could just stuff between the couch cushions? You thought I wouldn't notice?" His eyes were close to bugging out now.

"But the sock was probably from the party you threw earlier." I said.

"BULLSHIT!" he roared as he slapped me across the face. I winced and held back my tears.

"You DARE blame this on me? YOU are the one who got too FUCKING LAZY to FUCKING CLEAN A SOCK UP!"

I didn't dare answer during his rant.

"You are a DISGRACE!" he kicked my off my chair and I landed on the hardwood floor. My leg started hurting like crazy.

"You are a WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT!" he yelled. With every word he kicked me in the stomach.

"Get out of my sight you filthy animal." he growled. "And not one word to anyone about this."

I got up slowly and limped back to my room. I shut the door quietly and listened for footsteps. Sure enough, there was the sound of someone stomping, then a door slammed shut. The tenseness in my shoulders relaxed a little bit. Reed couldn't hear me anymore. I slid down the door until I was sitting, then I promptly broke down completely.

After a while of just letting the tears loose, I felt like my leg was a little better. Slowly, I pushed my way off the ground. I hobbled over to the mirror in the bathroom to check for damages. There was a big bruise at the top of my leg, a red hand mark on my cheek, and my stomach was aching. But other than that everything was fine. Except my feelings.

For 4 years, he's been doing this to me. Sometimes, he doesn't come home and I don't get a beating. Other times, he's on the lookout for anything I do wrong, waiting for a chance to step in and...discipline me. I try to pretend I don't care about him, and it fails. If I didn't care about him, why would I be crying so much? I think the truth is, I can't lose him. I lost my father, and if I lose the only other father figure I have, then I'll go completely bonkers. In a way, he kind of reminds me of my father. They both have messy, sand colored hair and are both tall. But seriously. Do you know how hard it is to pretend you don't love someone? And even if he's done horrible things to you, you know that deep down, you still love him because you think he'll change. But of course, my hopes are slowly declining.

I go to my door and slowly open it. Making sure that his door is closed, I slowly crept out of my room and into the living room. I searched the place until I found my backpack. I slung it over my back and went back to my room. I sat down at the desk in my room. _Better keep this with me._ I thought. I checked the clock and saw that it was 10 pm. I opened a desk drawer, and inside it was a small bottle of sleeping pills, which I took out. The label said that these pills could knock someone out for 12 hours without interruption. It clearly warned not to take more than 3 or you would die.

I took off the cap and poured out four pills.

I rolled them around on my hand. _I could do it._ I thought._ Escape this all. Why shouldn't I?_ But for some reason, I put the pills back in the bottle. I went over to the sink and washed my hands thoroughly. After that, I took a shower, brushed my teeth, changed into my jammies (That's right, I still call them jammies. Deal with it.), and flopped onto my bed, thinking about what had happened today. This was actually one of the better days. I still remember that one time he took a belt and...well, you don't need to know the details.

I turned onto my other side. I didn't really have anyone to talk to about this. I mean, of course, I trust my friends. It's just, Reed has threatened to hurt anyone I tell, and I can't do that to them.

It's about 11 pm when I finally fall asleep.

The alarm clock woke me up at 6 am. I hit the button that turned it off, then got up carefully. My leg hurt, and my cheek stung. My stomach felt like it was going to throw up. Great.

I slowly got dressed, and went through the usual morning routine. Brush my teeth, comb my hair, shower, and then make breakfast for Reed. As soon as I was done with the bacon and waffles, I packed my backpack. Even though school didn't start until 7:30, I grabbed my jacket and went out the door. The bus didn't run in the morning, and the school was a good 5 miles away.

Walking in the city always helped me think. I hate being cooped up in that tiny apartment with Reed. It's like being in a cage with a tiger. And an unpredictable and violent one at that. The fresh air helps me think. Okay, actually, Manhattan's air isn't really that fresh, but it's better that the smell of drugs and alcohol. I kicked a rock onto the street. _What's it to life anyway?_ I wondered. _They say there's always something good with the bad, but I just don't see it._

I checked my wrist watch and saw that it was already 7._ I better get going_. I thought._ Still a good three miles to go._

When I got to school, I got there on time with ten minutes to spare. Rachel, Grover, Nico, and Percy were all waiting there for me.

"You're finally here!" said Rachel. "I was starting to get a little worried."

"Admit it. You guys can't go a day without me." I teased.

"Not true!" said Nico.

"Hey guys, you know what I heard?" said Grover.

"What?" I asked.

"We're running the mile in a week."

Rachel, Nico, and Grover all groaned, but Percy and I didn't.

"I really don't think it's all that bad." said Percy. "I run a mile every day for swimming."

"You swim? Like on a team?" I asked. Percy nodded in response.

"Cool." I said. "And guys, the mile really isn't that bad." I said to the three whiney-babies.

"Easy for you to say." said Grover. "You got the fastest time out of the all the freshmen last year!"

"You did?" asked Percy, surprised. I looked at him with a cocky smile.

"Why?" I asked. "You jealous?"

He snorted. "As if."

Rachel grinned. "Well, we'll just see now won't we?" She nudged me on my leg, and I winced. She'd nudged me right on my bruise.

Suddenly, she looked worried. "Did I hurt you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said._ If you call this hellhole of a life fine._ I added to myself.

For some reason, Percy looked suspicious. But I lie pretty well, so I'm sure it was my imagination.

"Look, how many times do I have to tell you? Hades can't do anything without those extra cards! Pan can do panic!" Grover said exasperatedly.

"Whatever man. I still think Hades is better." said Nico.

"Oh come one guys." said Percy. "Clearly Poseidon is better. He can do hurricanes, which is 500 damage. And if you add the trident, it's like 1,000."

"Well, Poseidon is really rare so- hang on. You play mythomagic?" said Nico.

"Who doesn't?" said Percy.

Both Rachel and I raised our hands, but the guys ignored us. They kept talking about their stupid mythomagic game, while Rachel and talked about how annoying they could get.

When the bell finally rang, we headed to our lockers to get ready for 1st period. I had P.E first, and so did Rachel. I put my stuff in my locker, and then headed to the locker rooms to meet Rachel.

"Ready to be tortured by Mr. Jerk?" asked Rachel.

"His name is Mr. Jenk. Rachel."

"Well he's a jerk, so I call him Mr. Jerk."

"Just because he made you do pushups-"

"Fifty of them!"

"-for talking doesn't mean he's a jerk."

We changed into our gym clothes, then headed out to the gym. Most of the guys were trying to impress the girls, who were giggling. They were doing all sorts of ridiculous things, from jumping up the walls to climbing the bleachers. A certain boy with dark hair was walking away from that crowd and toward us.

Great. Another class with Percy. No sarcasm intended.

"Hey, Annabeth. Rachel." He greeted us. "Can I borrow Annabeth for a sec?" When we both nodded, he grabbed my arm and pulled me to the corner of the gym. It was far from other people, so there was no chance anyone would overhear us.

"Are you okay?" he asked with a worried voice.

"I'm fine." I said. "Why wouldn't I be?" But I remember that look of suspicion he gave me earlier.

"You're not okay." he said. "I can see it in your eyes."

"What do you mean, 'You can see it my eyes.'?"

"Look, I moved here for two reasons." he said. "One was because my mom and I went to live with my cousin so that she could attend a writing school. The other was because I got bullied at my old school."

_That would explain why he felt the need to protect me in biology._ I thought.

"There was this thing where one of them was insulting my mom." he continued. "And nobody insults my family. I gave him a broken arm, a bloody nose, a concussion, and got kicked out for it. My school didn't want a troublemaker like me there."

"That look in your eyes," he said quietly, "Is the look I got when I looked in the mirror. You're hiding something bad, and whatever you say, I will not believe that you are fine."

We had a silent stare down, grey eyes on green.

"Get your butts over here!" called Mr. Jenk. "And stop staring_ adoringly_ into each other's eyes!" The whole class sniggered at the teacher's comment.

Maybe Rachel was right about Mr. Jenk. Or should I say Mr. Jerk?

"All you have to know," whispered Percy to me. "Is that you can trust me with it."

* * *

**Can she Percy? Can she really? **

**I wish I could call my gym teacher Mr. Jerk. But she's a girl. And her last name sounds more like mountain than jerk.**

**I hope you like the song lyrics. Demons is like one of my favorite songs!**

**So I guess we found out Annabeth's little secret huh? And my, what a secret it is. **

**I have my own secret too...but you'll find out soon.**

**Let's see, the next chapter's quote will be from...Nico! **

**"Well, being conked on the head isn't something that _should_ feel comfortable you big idiot!"**


	3. Chapter 3

_All you need to know, is that you can trust me with it. _

Could I really trust Percy? I've only known him for about 2 days. The only person I've ever trusted with my secret was my best friend, and she'd moved away last year. I haven't even told Rachel, Grover, or Nico, and I've known them longer and trust them more than Percy. But there's something about Percy that makes me want to tell him, makes me want to trust him.

Mr. Jenk, I mean Jerk, started roll call. As he called out our names, we responded with 'Here!' There was the occasional comedian who tried to get us to laugh by saying things like "Monkey!" or "Balls!" Most of them were boys.

"All right," said Mr. Jerk after he took roll call. "Today we're going to be playing volleyball. The half court line is the net. The team captains are Stacy LeRange and Annabeth Chase."

"You pick first, Chase." She sneered. "You'll just pick off the losers I don't want."

"Well, those losers and I are going to kick your butt." If you haven't noticed, I am very competitive.

"Rachel." I said.

"Cory." she said. The quarterback made his way toward Stacy.

"Percy."

"Laina."

"Alli."

"Josh."

"Scarlet."

"Tommy."

This went on until all the kids were picked. My team consisted of most of the actual volleyball players, and it was pretty decent. Stacey's team had all the jocks, populars, and all of the _best _volleyball players. So it was pretty evened out.

After both our teams got on their side of the gym, Mr. Jerk stood at the half court line. "We'll be following all regular volleyball rules," said Mr. Jerk. "Which means that all volleyball moves are allowed. Go!"

He threw the ball to Stacey, who immediately served it to our side. Alli, who played volleyball, attacked and scored for our side. After that, I served and Laina hit back. Scarlet rushed forward and bounced the ball over the net, which looked near impossible to hit back. I was sure we earned a point, when Tommy spiked it over the nonexistent net. The two teams kept

This went on for a while, so that when we were twenty minutes in the game, the score was tied at 7-7.

It was their turn to serve when I heard Stacy whisper my name.

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

"Just remember something hun." she said. "Percy is mine."

I resisted the urge to laugh. "As if."

"He just had the misfortune of picking the wrong table to sit at the first day. He could've done so much better than you."

"How dumb are you?" I asked.

"Just remember, stay away from him, or bad things will happen."

I smirked. "Make me."

She grinned wickedly. "Suit yourself."

The ball sailed over to their side. Stacy spiked the ball over the nonexistent net. Right onto my head.

Who knew volleyballs were so hard?

Black spots danced into my vision. My head felt like it was splitting in two. And for some reason, I heard a male laughing. Reed. I heard someone calling my name, but faintly. _Stop it_. I thought. _Stop the pain_. I remember seeing green something before blacking out.

When I woke, all I could see was white. I immediately began panic. I scanned my surroundings. There were lots of green cabinets and a sink. Opposite the cabinets was where I lay, on a tan cot against the wall. On the far side of the little space, there was a doorway, leading to what looked like an office. I got up and walked out of the doorway, still confused where I was. There was a lady typing on a computer, and I tapped her shoulder. She was kind of old, and was wearing this white shirt with white pants. I was about to ask her where I was, when she pushed me down into a seat that was across from her computer.

"Sit." she said. "I need to ask you a few health questions, being the nurse and all."

So that's where I was. The nurse's office. I had always tried to avoid the nurse's office, for obvious reasons. But why would I be in the nurse's office? I can't remember. Come to think of it, I can't remember anything after Mr. Jerk announced the team captains.

"So," she said. "I see that you've never been to the nurse in high school. I take it that you're very healthy?" I nodded silently and she continued. "Well, you got a small concussion from being hit by a ball. Also, you have a rather large bruise at the top of your leg." I tensed a little bit. She didn't notice and kept talking. "You may experience some side effects, but other than that you should be fine."

"You'd better get to the cafeteria, lunch just started for the sophomores." she said. I nodded again and quietly said thank you. I got up from the chair I was sitting in and walked quickly to the cafeteria.

After getting my food, I sat down at my usual table. The others were already there, and when they saw me they exploded with questions.

"Are you okay?" asked Rachel.

"Does it hurt?" asked Grover.

"I bet it's not comfortable at all." said Percy.

"Well, being conked on the head isn't something that _should_ feel comfortable you big idiot!"

Percy glared at him while Nico inhaled his burger.

"I'm fine." I said. "But I can't remember what happened."

"Well, we were playing volleyball," said Rachel, "Then Stacy spiked the ball onto you head. You sorta collapsed, so Percy and I ran over and you weren't moving, so Mr. Jerk said that we should take you to the nurse. Percy carried you and she told us to lay you down, but she didn't let us stay, so we went back to the gym."

"You should have seen it." said Percy. "Mr. Jenk was yelling at Stacey for poor sportsmanship and bad aim. I think he called her and aimless troglodyte."

"Thanks for carrying me." I said to Percy.

"No problem." he said.

"What's a troglodyte?" asked Nico.

"Usually people use it as an insult. It means a prehistoric cave dweller. It's like saying that person's uncivilized." I said.

Nico stuck his tongue out at me. "Nerd."

After lunch, Percy and I headed to biology, where the scene was about the same as yesterday. We sat down at the same desk. Neither of us were really talking, but the silence wasn't awkward. It was more of a…comfortable silence.

When Ms. Dawson walked in, everybody quieted. Evidently, the impression she made on the first day was accrediting. "Please get in your seats." she said. Immediately, anyone not already sitting sat down. Man, the power of fame.

"I've decided not to give you your weekly test this Friday, since it is already Thursday and I believe that it would be futile to try and teach you something in one day." If this was any other teacher, the whole class would've burst into cheering, and it would have been impossible to calm them down. But evidently, Ms. Dawson was not any other teacher. The class remained completely silent. "Now, you can do whatever you want, but please don't get to out of control, and stay in the classroom please." With that, she walked over to her desk, opened a book and began to read. The class burst into pandemonium.

I turned to Percy. "So, what do you want to do?" I asked him.

He thought for a moment. "I don't know. There really isn't much do here. And I do not want to join the other people in this room."

I wondered why he didn't want to hang with any other people. Then I turned around and realized that the rest of the class had started to play spin the bottle with a pencil.

I was trying to think what we should do, but Percy interrupted my thoughts. "So tell me about yourself."

I looked at him blankly. "What?"

"Well, I don't know a lot about you, and you don't know a lot about me, so what better way to get to know each other than to tell each other about ourselves."

"Okay then." I said. "Well, my full name is Annabeth Haley Chase. My favorite color is green. I am a really big reader, and I want to be an architect."

"Why an architect?" asked Percy.

I thought for moment. "I guess, I want something permanent. Ever since I was little, nothing in my life has really been permanent."

"Why not?"

I hesitated. "It's kind of a long story."

"We've got time."

I took a deep breath. "Well, my dad died when I was ten. My mom and I were devastated, but I never really had a close relationship with her, even after he died. She was always too busy. And she married another guy." I hesitated again, trying to think if I should tell him about Reed or not. "He's not very nice." There, not a lie, but not the full truth.

Percy nodded, and I recognized an emotion in his eyes. What was it?

"Go on." he said.

Understanding. That's what I saw in his eyes.

"They divorced, and now I live with my stepfather." I said. "That's it, I guess. That enough for you?"

Again, Percy nodded, not saying anything. I didn't either. I can't believe I came so close to telling him. For a while, there was no sound except for the background noise of our classmates saying "Spin! Spin! Spin!"

"My full name is Perseus Greyson Jackson." said Percy out of nowhere. "My favorite color is blue. And really liked the ocean. It's just so," he struggled to find the right words. "Uncontrollable and beautiful." he finally said.

"My dad died too, when I was five. He went out to get some ice cream for me and mom, and he never came back. My mom was really sad, but she kept it together for my sake. She worked really hard to keep both of us alive, sometimes working 2 jobs and not coming home until midnight. Eventually, someone took interest in her writing, and now she's publishing a book soon. She's going to a writing school to 'perfect her skills' or whatever. At least, that's what she said."

Percy sounded like he had gone through a rough time as a kid too. I guess growing up too fast in our youth was something we could both relate to.

"What a great place to talk about out life problems. In a biology classroom." joked Percy.

I smiled. "Completely appropriate environment. Next to teenage kids playing spin the bottle."

We both laughed. I looked at Percy. His hair was falling into his face. His eyes twinkled with amusement, which made them look pulchritudinous. He was more buff than I had first seen. I wonder how much he could bench…

"Annabeth? Are you okay? You look kind of spacey."

I snapped out of my daze. "Oh, sorry. I'm fine,"

Suddenly, Percy leaned a little closer. "Remember what I told you in the gym? I don't believe you when you say you're fine."

I scowled at him. "And why would you think that I am not perfectly, unquestionably, absolutely fine?" I demanded.

"Because when you came in today, you looked like someone hurt you. And then when Rachel nudged you, you looked you were afraid of her." he stopped for a moment. "It wasn't what Stacy said yesterday, was it?"

"What? Of course not! Because I'm FINE."

Percy glanced at me. "Well I could be wrong…"

"And you are." I said. Of course he was right me being hurt, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

Right then, the bell rang. I got my stuff and headed to my locker, Percy walking silently beside me.

I didn't pay attention to anything during English. I kept thinking about how close I had been to tell Percy about Reed. What really confused me was why I wanted to tell him. I hadn't known him very long, and I had no reason to trust him. But I came to the conclusion that after all this time, with no one knowing what I went through, I just wanted someone to talk to.


	4. Headphones

**First of all, I'm really sorry I didn't get to upload last week. I was grounded. Second, I want to thank the new reviews, followers, and favorites. It means a lot that you guys take the time to read this chapter. And third, I'm sorry the third chapter didn't have the authors note or song lyrics. I had to post that one under the grounding. Then my parents found out and they locked my laptop away. **

**Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed the 2nd and 3rd chapter. **

**Spirit398, LeviosaLove, Death is my daddy, BookReaderIsReadingBooks, Ble fotia, The Official Queen of Sarcasm, LovLoganLermanLLL **

**The song was recommended by Death is my daddy. **

* * *

**Rachel: You posted! **

**Nico: Finally.**

**Percy: I was so bored that I started putting sticky notes everywhere. **

**Me: That explains why my laptop is covered in sticky notes. **

**Edith: Well, Sugar, you better get that under control. **

**Grover: Who's Edith? **

**Annabeth: She's- **

**Me: DON'T SPOIL THE CHAPTER BEFORE THEY'VE READ IT! *Pushes everyone out the door and slams it* **

**Me: Let's get on with the story.**

* * *

** So keep your head up high and dust off your shoulders  
It's alright, no, it's not over  
Love is here, it came to dry up all your tears  
Oh, can you feel it  
Gotta believe it, gotta see it  
By your side in the middle of the night  
So keep your head up high and the dust off your shoulders  
It's alright, no it's not over **

* * *

When the final bell rang, Nico, Grover, Rachel, and Percy walked off to the suburbs. I waved to them as they walked away, and they waved back. I turned around and walked to the bus stop. The whole time I was walking, I thought about how close I had come to telling Percy about Reed again. He seems to be trustworthy, and a good friend, but that doesn't mean I should tell him my biggest life secret. Right? Whatever it was, something about Percy made me feel like he was different. And I didn't know what it was. I hate not knowing.

When I reached the bus stop, I sat down at the little blue bench there. I looked across the street, where there was an ad about the musical Wicked performing on Broadway. The background of it was green, but there was a black line separating the witch's face from the background. A black hat covered her eyes, but you could see her red lips. A white witch looked like she was whispering from the side, and there were some flying monkeys above the word WICKED. I remember when my mom and dad took me to see it when I was 9.

**(A/N Sorry if anything is inaccurate, I've never been to Broadway. Or seen Wicked. I wish...)**

"_Annabeth, stop jumping on the seat." _

_My dad was trying to be stern, but I could still see that he was trying to hide his smile. His sand-colored hair was getting in his eyes, which had a twinkle in them. _

"_I'm sorry, Daddy." I peeped. "I'm just so excited!" _

"_That doesn't mean you can just go bonkers." said my mom. "Even though it is your birthday." _

_I sighed dramatically, then flopped down on my seat. I had always wanted to be an actress on Broadway. I loved their costumes, their singing, everything. My parents said I was a good singer, but they have to say that. They're my parents. What really mattered was what the audience thinks. _

_Since my mom was always busy, and my dad never had time for me, it was really special that they had bought us tickets for Wicked. They knew that it was my favorite musical, and had meant a lot to me that they carved some time for us to spend together. _

_The lights dimmed. "It's starting!" I was practically about to explode with excitement. The curtains opened to reveal a black hat. The people of Oz were celebrating the death of the wicked witch. Glinda comes down and everyone starts singing about how horrible the wicked witch was. _

_I frowned. "That's mean." I said. _

"_She was evil. She deserved it." said my mom. _

_I wasn't sure if she did deserve it, but mom was always right. I kept watching the stage. They reenacted the birth of the wicked witch, revealing the secrets and dishonesties of the family. When she was born, the parents were disgusted by her green skin. _

"_I don't think her own mommy should hate her." I said. _

"_Sadly, some people just aren't reasonable or logical. These people exist in real life too." said my dad. _

_I was shocked. "You mean the Oz is real?" I asked excitedly. _

_Dad chuckled. "Not what I meant, pumpkin. Just keep watching." _

_The musical went on, and then someone from the crowd asks Glinda if she was friends with witch, and she says yes. Everyone is appalled that Glinda was friends with the wicked witch. She then begins to explain that their paths crossed when they were young schoolgirls. The scene cuts to when Galinda first meets Elphaba. _

The bus came to stop at where I was sitting. The sound of it wakes me from my flashback. I get the money for the bus fare out of my backpack. The doors opened to reveal the bus driver. She was African-American, and about 30 years old. Her short hair was sticking out all over the place, like she hadn't combed it in a while. When you looked a little closer, you could see the stiffness of her hair, which meant that she had used a lot of hairspray, and that she looked like that on _purpose_. She had this facetious aura, always smiling with a glittering light in her eyes. When she opened the door, she saw me and looked at me in delight.

"Annabeth!" she cried.

"Edith!" I cried back. I gave her a big hug, and handed her the bus fare.

"How are you?" she asked.

"I'm really good actually. I have so much to tell you."

Call me crazy, but I had a really good relationship with Edith. I was always on the bus, and she was usually the driver. She was this eccentric and energetic person that everybody seemed to warm up to right away. Even though she wasn't my mom, I saw her as a mother figure. I could confide in her, and I've told her a lot. She was always there to comfort me. And she paid more attention to me than my real mom. When there wasn't anyone else on the bus, like today, we would chat a while.

"Well, fire away!" she said.

I took a seat and she started driving. "Actually, I want to ask you a question first. Why weren't you here yesterday?"

"I was doing something at the college." she replied.

Edith is one of those people who are kind-hearted, intelligent, and put in a bad situation. When she was a little girl, her father died in an airplane crash. Her mom worked around the clock, sometimes not coming home at all. Edith was left to fend for herself in a rough neighborhood. Then, the economy got really bad, and a lot of people were laid off. Including her mom. They lost their car, then their house, and in the end, Edith lost her mom. Thankfully, she met someone, they got married, and now she's taking a medical course at the community college.

"Anything happen at school?" she asked.

"Yeah." I said. "There's this new guy at our school, Percy Jackson."

"Is his mother's name Sally Jackson?"

I thought back to our conversation in biology. "I'm don't know. Why do you ask?"

"I met a lady at the college today. She said she moved here from Nebraska to become an author. She also said she had a son named Percy." said Edith.

"Well, I guess that is his mom." I said. "And, um, I told Percy about my parents."

Edith considered this. She knows that I don't like talking about my family. "Well, he must be something special." she finally said.

I shrugged. "I guess. I just don't get why I would feel so comfortable around him after two days."

Edith seemed to be searching for the right words to say. "There's this old myth," she said. "About humans from Ancient Greece. Humans used have to have double the number of heads, arms, and legs."

"But what does that have to do with-"

"I'm getting there sugar." said Edith. "Fearing their power, Zeus split them in half, condemning them to search for their other part for the rest of their life. Maybe, Percy's your other part. Meant to be."

See, this is what I mean when I say she's like my mother.

"But I've only known him for two days." I protested.

"Love knows no time." replied Edith.

I blushed. "I don't _love_ him." I mumbled.

"Then why are you blushing?"

This, of course, caused me to blush more and caused Edith to laugh.

After that, we had a conversation about how her husband was doing at his job as a lawyer. All too soon, we came to the bus stop in front of the apartment complex. I said goodbye to Edith, and waved. She waved back, then closed the bus doors. I watched as she drove away, weaving thorough the traffic of Manhattan. I took out the apartment key and walked into the complex.

The doorman usually isn't there, which is something I am grateful for. But alas, today I have not been granted this luxury. He sits there with his feet on the counter. It looks like someone dumped a trash can on him, because he is covered in beer cans, plastic cups, and cigarettes. His face is contorted into this permanent foul sneer that is repulsive. His stench is so strong that it could probably be smelt in Europe.

But being the polite person that I am, I said "Hi, Bernie."

He looked at me like I was a week-old burrito that he had left behind the couch. "Shut up, you little pest." he slurred.

Did I mention that he and Reed are friends?

I walk past him, holding my breath. I take the stairs (the elevator is always broken) to my apartment on the 3rd floor. It's only then that I finally breathe. I unlock the door, and am greeted with a clean apartment. _Good._ I think. _Less work for me. _

I throw my backpack on the moth-eaten flower couch, then walk to the refrigerator. I pull open the door, and discover that there is only one TV dinner left. I heat it up, then put it on the table for Reed. I won't get dinner today, but it doesn't matter. It's happened before. I plop down on the couch and start on my homework. Thank god there isn't much.

I am just finishing up my math questions when I hear the door open. Reed stumbles in, his eyes bloodshot, his hair shaved half off. He's obviously drunk, possibly high, and has probably been to a pretty wild party. He struggles to take off his jacket, and puts his shoes in the TV dinner. I try to become one with the furniture, but it doesn't work. He sees me, then stumbles over to me. There is something about Reed that makes him terrifying even though he can't walk straight.

"You are in trouble." he slurs. "Bernie told me you were back at seven-thirty. You're supposed to be back at seven."

This, of course, if not true, I was back at five. But he never listens to me anyway, so why bother?

"Answer me." He demands.

"I was back at five." I mumble.

He grabs me by the neck, cutting off my oxygen. I choke for air, and claw at his hands, but he's stronger than me even when he's drunk. My vision gets fuzzy, and I can't seem to hear. I pray for Him to take me away, to release me from this pain. I must get away. Just as I think I see a light, I can breathe again. I cough and choke, but soon I have air. I'm alive.

Reed has been standing over me while I recover. "You pathetic piece of shit." he says. "But I'm not through with you yet." He lifts me up by the arms, then slams me against the wall. My head feels like it's going to split in two. He slams me against the wall again. "Why are you not crying?" he says. "I like it when you cry." He drops me, then punches me in the arm. I scream in pain, but hold my tears in. He puts his sleeve in my mouth. "We can't have any of that now, can we?" he says. He keeps punching, and all I can do is wait for the pain to stop, one way or another. A single tear has managed slip from my eye. I can feel it against my cheek, slowly sliding down. Reed stops. "That's what I wanted." he said. "But it's not enough." I brace myself for another punch, but it doesn't come. He's walked away, leaving me on the floor in excruciating pain.

I wait until the pain has gone from impossibly unbearable to tolerable. At that point, I get up and walk to my bedroom slowly. I open the drawer with the pills, then pour four into my hand. I look at them with longing, but put them back in the bottle again. I want to collapse on the bed and fall asleep forever, but I decide I don't want to smell like Bernie vomited on me. I take a cold shower, because it feels nice on my injuries. After I brush my teeth, I change into my jammies and jump into my bed's comfort. I toss and turn, trying to find a position where I can't feel any of my bruises. As I change sleeping positions, I wonder why pain is so cruel.

But as my favorite book character would say, "That's the thing about pain. It demands to be felt."

The alarm woke me up at six. I was sore all over, but I ignored it. After going through the usual morning routine (and skipping breakfast because of the lack of food), I grabbed my jacket and backpack, then started walking to school. I took my iPod touch that my mom gave me for my 15th birthday with me. The school has a strict policy against it, but what's life without a little risk? I put my headphones in and put on Pandora. The song that came on was Daylight by Maroon 5. I walked to the beat of the music. I even started singing toward the end of the song. When it was over, I heard clapping. Alarmed, I spun around to see Percy. He was wearing a leather jacket over a white shirt and jeans. And for some reason, all I could hear in my mind was Edith saying "Love knows no time."

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I had to walk to school because my mom's car broke down." he said.

"But I thought you lived in that suburban area."

"I do. I was with my mom at the college she's teaching at. And I was just walking along, when I happen to hear an angelic voice! And so I rush toward the sound, expecting to see a white-robbed human with wings, and instead," Percy makes a face. "I find _you_."

I pretend to be mad. "Thanks, Seaweed Brain. Feeling the love."

He laughs. "But in all seriousness, you have a good voice,"

"Thanks." I say. "But let's go back to the part where you just _happened_ to find me."

"What, do you think that I was stalking you?"

I pretend to be thinking. "Well…it's not out of the question."

"Why would I be stalking you?"

"Because you like me."

I intended it to be a joke, but that was not how it come off on Percy. He blushed a little, then kind of looked at the sidewalk, then back at me, then he looked back at the sidewalk. "Well, um, I am-" he stuttered.

"Relax, Seaweed Brain, it was a joke." I said.

All at once, he relaxed. "Phew. Cause I didn't want to be the one to let you down."

"Why? Is it because you're scared of me?" I teased.

And with this serious expression on his face, he nodded.

I blinked. "Why?"

"Because, Nico told me he ripped a page of your book out, then you smashed him into a wall the next day at P.E."

"Okay, first of all, you can't prove I did that on purpose." I said. "And second of all, after I did do that, I took him to the nurse!"

"Still scared." he said.

"It was an architecture book!"

"Not helping."

"Okay, well, we had better start walking, because we're going to be late." I said.

And so we walked.

* * *

**Sorry for the crappy ending, but I didn't really know how else to end it. And there will be some Percabeth in the near future. I'll let them have some time together before I mess around. **

**Oops, did I just say that out loud? My bad. (Or, erm, type it out loud? Does that still work?)**

**Next chapter quote is from...Rachel! **

**"What if I said that you are insane?" **

**Review, favorite, and follow please!**


	5. A Great Big World

**Hey Guys! So I've had a rough week, but the notifications for follows, favorites, and reviews really got me through! Thank you guys so much! Thanks you! (Also, I haven't been getting as many reviews. I'm not complaining, but am I doing something wrong?) **

**Thanks to those who reviewed Chapter 4! **

**spirit398, Spiderhog6, Percabeth9172 **

**Also, thanks to any new followers and favorites! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy, but I certainly wish I do. **

* * *

**Annabeth: I'm not this girly in real life, right? **

**Percy: *Sweats* Um, what about that one time- **

**Annabeth: WE DO NOT SPEAK OF THAT. **

**Nico: What did she do? **

**Percy: She- **

**Annbeth: NO. **

**Percy: Dressed in a pink dress- **

**Annabeth: WHAT DID I SAY. **

**Percy: Fought a hellhound-**

**Annabeth: STOP.**

**Percy: It was a curse from Aphrodite- **

**Annabeth: WHERE'S MY DAGGER. **

**Grover: Run, Perce. **

* * *

**And I am feeling so small  
It was over my head  
I know nothing at all**

**And I will stumble and fall**  
**I'm still learning to love**  
**Just starting to crawl**

* * *

Just like I predicted, we were late. And it hadn't helped that Percy insisted saying a proper goodbye to the rock he had kicked the time we were walking.

We were 5 minutes late, but that didn't matter today. I had study hall instead of P.E. first period today (the two classes alternate days). The teacher who's supposed to watch us doesn't even pay attention to us most of the time. From what I hear, she's young, just graduated from college. And I have to admit, she's really pretty. Her short blond hair brings out her facial features, which are for more impeccable than a natural person's should be. Even though her appearance was incredibly congenial, her personality was not. She snapped at anyone who disturbed her from her magazine, and threatened them with detention. We don't even know her name. The last time someone asked, she had replied "You can either shut up or risk losing a finger." The upside of this is if you come in late, she doesn't notice or care.

I sat down in the back next to Rachel, where my assigned seat was. Unfortunately for Percy, the only seat left was the one next to Stacey. He looked extremely uncomfortable as Stacey started drooling over him. I suppressed a laugh, and turned to Rachel. She seemed to find this just as amusing as I did.

"Looks like Cinderella found her Prince Charming." I snickered.

"More like Sluterella." said Rachel.

I frowned. "That wasn't very nice."

"When has she ever been nice to us?"

"You have a point there."

We kept watching as Stacey attempted to flirt with Percy. And using the word attempted was generous, she was actually failing spectacularly. Her finger was winding part of her long hair around it, and it was almost hypnotizing. Her excessive makeup made her look like and orange with a marker-made face on it, but she carried herself with confidence and seemed to think that she was prettier than anyone else. She was batting her overly mascaraed eyelashes too much, making it look like she had something in both eyes.

Percy seemed to be treading lightly. It looked like he was responding politely, and it could also be mistaken for enjoyment in participation with a conversation with Stacey. His body posture told another story. He was on the edge of his seat, as if looking for an escape. His arms and legs were crossed defensively, and he looked tense.

"Do you think that Stacey will ever take a hint?" asked Rachel.

I snorted. "Please. If she could take a hint, don't you think she would put less bronzer on?"

"True that." said Rachel. "Does she _try_ to look like the sun threw up on her?"

I shrugged, looking at Stacey again. Now, she was trying to get Percy to flirt back with her. His eyes were darting in my direction saying _If you help me right now I will owe you for the rest of my life._

"I think she should get a taste of her own medicine." I said.

"Then why doesn't she?" said Rachel.

I looked at Rachel in bewilderment. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"Let's pull something on her." said Rachel. "I've been working on some paint bombs. You attach them to the back of the door, and then when you open it-"

"Look, Rachel, I think this is a bad idea." I interrupted.

Rachel looked at me funny. "What if I said that you are insane? It's the perfect revenge!"

"I just, don't want to hurt her."

"Don't hurt her? She's hurt both of us so many times! And you worry about hurting _her_?"

"Well, I guess it'd be nice to see her take a walk in our shoes."

"So you're in!"

"I didn't say that."

Rachel sighed in exasperation. "You're really stubborn sometimes, you know that?"

"Look," I said. "I just think we should do something more practical than paint bombs."

"What could be more practical than paint bombs?"

"I don't know, something less messy? Like, changing her makeup?"

"Well, that's actually not a bad idea." said Rachel. "What do you propose?"

"I don't know. Switch out her bronzer for orangeish face paint?"

"Now you're talking!" said Rachel. "This is why we call you the smart one."

I smiled. It feels nice to be complimented every once in a while, even if it's small. Rachel was all for the plan, and so was I. We spent the rest of study hall planning the Makeup Mix-up. (That's what we decided to call it.)

When the bell rang, we packed up. Rachel was headed to math, so we went in opposite directions. I saw Percy in front of me, so I caught up with him.

"Hey," I said. "Where are you going?"

"Spanish." he said. "With _Senora Abela_." He said the last two words in a high pitched voice.

"What's wrong with her? She seemed fine when I had her last year."

He looked at me strangely. "You didn't notice her talking to us like we were 5?"

"Okay, well, besides that, she was a good teacher."

"But she give us homework!" he whined.

"Every teacher gives us homework, Seaweed Brain."

He sent me a glare, which made me laugh. We passed by my history classroom, and I said bye to Percy before entering the room. I sat down in the front and took out my notebook. I noticed Stacey coming in, talking to her giggly friend about how she had Percy wrapped around her little finger. I smiled.

I couldn't wait to see her orange.

After a very long hour of talking about the civil war, it was time for lunch. All five of us sat at our usual table. Rachel had just finished describing the Makeup Mix-up to the others when I sat down.

"Are you really gonna do it?" asked Nico.

"Of course I will, why wouldn't I?" I said.

"Well, I've always thought of you as a goody-two shoes."

This, of course, was nowhere close to true. I had an aptitude for trouble, and it was very obvious with most people. "Just because I'm smart, doesn't mean I'm a goody-two shoes." I said.

"Whatever you say." said Nico in a sing-song voice.

"Well, I'm not!" I protested.

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are-"

"You guys are fighting like five-year-olds." complained Grover. "And I suggest a citrus orange for the paint." he added.

"I don't know," said Percy. "When are you guys even going to be able to get to her makeup?"

"She had a bag of it in her gym locker." I explained. "She always pretends to go to the bathroom the last five minutes of class so she can redo her makeup."

"What a witch." said Rachel. "I bet she uses all that make-up to cover up her face because it's green."

"Hey, if she did have a green face, it's not her fault. Just because she's green doesn't mean she's a witch."

"Well, Stacey isn't Elphaba." Said Rachel.

"And she certainly acts mean enough to be a witch." added Percy.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. I need to go to the bathroom." I stood up and walked across the cafeteria to the girl's bathroom. I'm pretty sure I caught one of Stacey's goons glaring at me, but that could've been my imagination.

I pushed opened the door to the bathroom and stepped in. I opened a stall door, sat down on the toilet, and locked the door. I hadn't actually intended to go to the bathroom. Sometimes, I just use that excuse to get away from my friends. I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but I just need a little alone time. I leaned against the back of the toilet, and closed my eyes for a second. I heard the door open again, and heard two people walk in. Both of them were wearing heels, and the sound of them clicking was echoing off the walls.

"OMG, Stacey is like, so mad right now." said one.

"And it's over a boy. But when isn't it over a boy?" said the other. The two of them giggled before continuing.

"Hey, Angie, isn't it that new guy? What's his name again? Perry, Peter?"

"It's Percy." said Angie. "And you better make sure you don't forget in front of Stacey, Sylvia."

"Oh, I won't." said Sylvia. "She'd be, like, totally pissed. Wasn't she mad because another girl was dating him?"

"She wasn't dating him, just a danger." Said Angie. "It was Annabeth Chase, I think. Or was it Annabelle?"

"Hah!" exclaimed Sylvia. "In that case, Stacey will definitely get Percy."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because Annabeth is like, such a nerd. I mean, she's like, nice, but what else? She's ugly, and I bet she's really one of those dumb blondes. Unlike me." Said Sylvia.

"True that. Who goes for the ugly ones these days? Like I don't care if you're a great person, if you're not pretty, you're worthless!" The two girls giggled their way out of the bathroom.

I'm not going to pretend what they said didn't hurt. I've been told by whole life that I was worthless, nothing, and useless. But, hearing people who were talking behind my back like that makes me wonder if everyone thinks of me like that. I wonder if I'm really just a joke that everyone keeps around because they can't get rid of me.

The thought makes me wanna cry, and I do. A single tear had managed to escape the pools piling up in my eyes. I wipe them all away, and finally come out of the stall. I splash some water on my face, I hear it helps in making your eyes return to normal. When my eyes aren't red anymore, I step out. I head back to my table, keeping my head down.

"What took you so long?" asked Rachel.

"Did you fall in the toilet?" asked Nico. Percy, Grover, and Nico laughed at that, but Rachel looked dead serious.

"No seriously, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing, I'm fine." I said.

"Could've fooled me."

"I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"Are you sure you're okay Annabeth? I still don't believe you." said Percy.

"I'm fine, really." I repeated.

"Just let us know if something's wrong, Annabeth. We'll help you through it." said Grover.

"I never said I would." Said Nico. But after receiving a glare from Percy, he said "Alright, fine. But don't expect me to be all mushy mushy."

"Thanks guys," I said, "It means a lot."

With that, the bell signaling the end of lunch rings, and I throw my trash away. I walk with Percy to biology, and we sit down in the same seats we did last time.

"Annabeth, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Why do you keep asking? I'm _fine_." I said.

"I'm going to keep asking until you tell me the truth." He said.

"I am."

"No you're not. And nothing you say will convince me otherwise." He turned to the front of the classroom, like what he said was final.

I studied him, thinking about what Edith had said. Honestly, I don't think he'd make a bad boyfriend. But when I pictured falling in love, I had always pictured the guy seeing through my mask, comforting me and being there for me. Telling me that it's alright. He'd hold me in his arms, and I would nuzzle me head into his shoulder. We'd be sitting on a rooftop looking at the stars. "It's going to be okay Annabeth." He'd say. "It'll be okay."

And I think that Percy is pretty darn close to that image.

But then I remembered what Angie had said. _Who goes for the ugly ones these days? Like I don't care if you're a great person, if you're not pretty, you're worthless!_

Worthless. That's what I am.

Ms. Dawson came in, and everyone scrambled to their seats. She greeted us with a full on smile. "Good afternoon!" she chirped. "I plan to start our heredity unit today, so open up your books to page 200!"

The sound of flipping pages and books being slammed onto desks filled the air. Once we were all there, Ms. Dawson started talking. "As you can see, we will start learning about mitosis and meiosis first." She walked over to the board. "Can anyone tell me the difference between the two? Yes, Annabeth?"

"Mitosis," I said, "Is when cells are replicated completely. The daughter cell is identical to its mother cell. Meiosis is when a cell's chromosomes are divided in half, then divided again. This creates gametes, so it's for making babies instead of new cells."

Most of the class looked completely lost, but Ms. Dawson grinned. "Good! That is one of the many differences between the two." She wrote _Mitosis_ on one side of the board and _Meiosis_ on the other. She listed the reasons I'd just said. "Can anyone else give me more?" When no one volunteered information, she started teaching us all the reasons. I didn't really pay attention to her, I already knew about this. I had done it for a science project in middle school.

When we were done with all the reasons, Ms. Dawson gave us a worksheet. Everyone finished quickly, which I thought was weird because usually, I'm one of the only ones who actually cares. I wonder why everyone finished so fast.

"Ms. Dawson," said someone in the back. "Now that we're all done, can we here about you and Austin?"

Ah, there's the reason.

Ms. Dawson smiled. "Very well. What do you what to hear about? Oh, I know! How about the time he proposed?" All the girls nodded vigorously, and all the guys just didn't care. Ms. Dawson smiled again, then started. "He took me to a very fancy restaurant, which he did a lot, so I didn't suspect anything. Then, I had just bit into my breadstick when I chomped on something hard. I took the breadstick out, and Austin was on his knee, and the-" She was cut short by the bell ringing. Some of the girls groaned, but most of us just ran out the door.

At the end of school, Nico was practically bouncing off the walls.

"I love Friday! No more school! Yes!" he yelled.

"Calm yourself, we all love Friday." Said Rachel.

I smiled. I also liked Friday, but not for the reason you would think. I mean, sure, I liked not having school or homework too. But on the weekends, Reed let me do whatever I wanted as long as I went grocery shopping. I always looked forward to escaping his abusive manner for two days a week, no matter how brief.

"Hey, Annabeth. You want to hang out with us on Saturday?" asked Percy.

"Yeah, sure." I said. "Sounds great."

He flashed me a smile. "Cool, see you then."

I was feeling pretty good about myself when the words came back to me.

_You're worthless._

* * *

**So that little scene in the bathroom was from my life. I heard two girls talking about me, they were not using kind words. :(**

**But I've learned to deal with it. **

**Also, that bit about Annabeth wondering if she's a joke, also my thoughts. I just think about it all the time, you know? **

**Okay, next chapter quote is from...Grover! **

**"I'd take enchiladas over french fries any day."**


	6. 21 Guns

**Okay, so I know I originally said I would update on Tuesdays and Fridays. But I can never seem to get the chapter done on Tuesday, so let's just change it to Friday. **

**Also, we've reached 20 reviews! (24, actually) You know what that means? EXTRA CHAPTER! It should come out some time before next Friday. Next extra chapter is at 40 reviews! **

**Speaking of reviews, I got 8 for chapter 5! The most I've ever gotten in one chapter! Thank you to those who reviewed: **

**PercyAnnabeth101, LeviosaLove, Spiderhog6, The Official Queen of Sarcasm, spirit398, Guest, and K**

**You are all so supportive and encouraging! Also, thank you to any new followers and favorites. And, of course, thanks to everyone who is currently following or has favorited the story. **

**Guest Review Answers: **

_**Guest: Nice story! Please update it as soon as possible! **_

**Thanks! I am updating it right now. **

_**K: The make new friends but keep the old song is also a girls scout song **_

**I know, but I thought it fit the first chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO. Or HOO. But I'm working on it.**

**The song was recommended by Spiderhog6. (Great song!)**

* * *

**Annabeth: I hate you. **

**Me: I know. **

**(That is literally all that needs to be said.) **

* * *

**When you're at the end of the road  
And you lost all sense of control  
And your thoughts have taken their toll  
When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul  
Your faith walks on broken glass and the hangover doesn't pass  
Nothing's ever built to last, you're in ruin **

* * *

Two little words had really bummed me out. Two little words. Two words can do a lot actually, such as _I do_ or _you're worthless. _

I bet you can guess which ones I heard.

I was walking from the school to the bus stop, mulling over this. Maybe I had always known I was worthless. I just didn't really want to admit it. Much like a criminal doesn't want to admit the truth. I sighed. Maybe all those things Reed said was right. Maybe I _was_ a waste of space that no one could get rid of. I was so lost in thought that I ran into someone. He dropped his suitcase.

"I am so sorry." I said. "Are you okay?"

The person I'd bumped into looked like someone out of a mystery book. He kind of reminded me of a Latino elf. The guy was short, impish, and had this smile that sent shivers up my back. My instincts were all _Stay away! He's bad! _His hair was a curly brown, and I'm guessing he had ADHD. He seemed like he was hyped up on sugar. He was wearing a beige trench coat, and black pants with a white dress shirt. He had a blue tie that was sloppily tied, and big black sunglasses that covered half his face. He had one of those black 'business' suitcases, which seemed to be overflowing with clothes. He picked it up and grumbled something.

"I'm fine." He said.

"I am so sorry, can I make it up to you?" I asked.

"No, I'm busy." He replied irritably.

"Well, at least tell me your name." I said.

He hesitated before saying "Leo Valdez." He ran off again, leaving me confused.

I kept walking to the bus stop. Today seemed like an especially busy day; the streets were packed with cars. It looked like an extreme game of Traffic Jam. The sidewalks were bustling with New Yorkers. It was like they were all moths attracted to a light. It was really hard trying to get through the crowd, and I thought I was going to miss the bus. Fortunately, I got there just in time. Edith had just pulled up when I ran to the door. Panting, I handed her my bus fare money and got on. There were a few people, which was surprising considering the size of the mob outside. I sat down in the first row as Edith took off.

"You okay, Sugar?" she asked. "I'm getting a bad vibe from you."

I shrugged. "I had a rough day at school."

"What happened?" she asked, her voice full of concern.

"Two girls, they, um, were making fun of me." It was hard to get out. When I did, a new wave of hurt washed over me.

"Whatever they said, it wasn't true. You are a bright, beautiful young lady. Don't you let them think otherwise."

"I don't know, Edith. What if what they said was true?"

Edith sighed in exasperation. "Okay, look. I think you are a wonderful women, and I'm sure others think that too! But nothing I say or anybody else says will make a difference unless you believe it! And Sugar, you've gone and believed in the wrong thing!"

Again, this is why I consider her my mother figure.

I felt a little uncomfortable for some reason. "I guess you could be right, Edith."

"Oh, Sugar. It's sad to watch a girl like you slowly fall into a pit of black."

I thought about that. I guess Edith was right. I am falling. My feet are starting to leave the ground. I am falling, slowly, but falling. The hopelessness of the pit was slowly working its way into me. The darkness was consuming me. Never enough to really notice, but once you fall far enough, you notice. There is a light in the distance, a light that I will never reach. And all I can do is hope that someone hands me a ladder.

Edith and I didn't talk much the rest of the ride. I got off the bus, and started walking to the grocery store. Better get the shopping done so I can hang out with Percy tomorrow.

I walked into a little shop called General Joe's Supply Store. As I opened the door, a bell jingled. A cashier appeared from behind the counter. She had blonde hair with streaks of purple in it. She had a lot of eyeliner on, and it looked like she had tried to have a smoky eye look. Except she had overdone the eye shadow a bit. She looked like one of those perky girls, who are always overly happy about everything. Like if you bought a bag of chips, she'd be happy because the chips are finally going to have a new home!

"May I help you?" she asked in a bubbly voice.

"No thank you, I'm okay." I said.

I hadn't seen her here before. Must be a new employee.

I looked around the store, taking the things I needed to and checking off my mental checklist. I also bought the special things that Reed wanted, like beers, that new razor, and a lighter. I also noticed that there was a new book out, called Divergent. I would have to check it out at the library sometime. I brought my stuff to the cashier, who scanned everything with joy. She noticed the beer and raised an eyebrow. "Are you 21?" she asked. I was getting ready to come up with a story about an alcoholic husband when she giggled. "Don't worry. But have a sick party with these, okay?" I nodded and pretended to be thankful for her generosity.

Yep. Definitely a new employee.

She printed the receipt and gave it to me. She also gave me the paper bags filled with my items. I noticed that her nails were painted all kinds of things, ranging from peacocks to just a solid black. "That'll be 19.95." she chirped. I got out the emergency twenty dollar bill from my backpack and handed it to her. She took it and gave me back a nickel. I thanked her and headed out the door.

"Come back again!" she said in a peppy voice.

I walked out onto the street. The apartment was right across from the store, so it wasn't a long walk. The cold air nipping at my skin was a sign that winter was just around the corner. I made a mental note to start wearing my jacket.

As I pushed open the door, I was greeted with the smell of anchovies and nicotine. Bernie was fast asleep, his feet resting on the desk while he sat in his La-Z-Boy chair. His snores were similar to whale noises. _Thanks for ratting me out yesterday._ I thought angrily. I carried my bags upstairs, which left me a little winded when I got to the apartment door. It was hard to get the key out of my backpack, but I managed to do it without breaking anything.

When I opened the door, I was shocked to see a clean apartment. Usually, Reed can't go two days without trashing the place. I plopped the bags down on the couch and put my backpack on the back of a kitchen chair. I started to put the groceries in the cabinets and fridge. When I got the last egg carton in, I heard a deep voice say, "You're late."

I stopped. I turned around to see Reed leaning against the doorway. It was obvious that today, he was not drunk. That was not a good thing. Now, he could actually think about the worst way to torture me. He looked at me with a smug expression, knowing he had the chance to punish me. And that he was going to take it.

But then he asked, "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I-I'm going to a friend's house." I said.

"Wrong." He said. "You're going to be serving me and my friends at my poker party tomorrow. And you don't have any friends, you little liar."

"But, you let me do what I want to on the weekends." I protested weakly.

He sneered. "Talking back now, are we? I think we need to teach you a lesson. Don't you?"

I couldn't answer, because right then he shoved his sleeve in my mouth.

"Take off your shirt." He said, deadly quiet.

I did as I was told, terrified of what would happen next. Was he going to…but he wouldn't. Would he? Various terrible images and scenarios reeled through my head, like a mental movie. My fear level went even higher when Reed unbuckled his belt and took it off. I imagined the news headlines: 16-year-old girl raped by own stepfather.

"Turn around." He commanded. I turned so that my back was facing him. What was this monster of a man going to do?

My question was answered when I felt the sudden lash of pain. It came again. It stung, and hurt so much every lash. Right when I felt the last hit fading away, another hit followed, renewing the pain. The tears were spilling over, unable to be restrained. _Make it stop. Now._ I thought. I could hear the harsh sound of leather meeting flesh. I thought I heard voices shouting out words of encouragement, but that was probably just me. I tried to distract myself by counting every lash as it came.

Thirteen. Fourteen.

I bit my lip so hard, I started tasting blood. Or was the blood from something else? Either way, the blood was dripping a little bit, onto the hardwood floor.

Fifteen. Sixteen.

A little pool of blood starting to form on the floor was slowly getting wider. The whips became harder, and the pain became stronger. Surely there was some way out of this that didn't involve death.

Seventeen. Eighteen.

Screw that, I'll take death over this.

Nineteen. Twenty.

Suddenly, the lashes stopped, and only the stinging remained. I could hear Reed's ugly laugh in the background. "Can't beat you up too bad, still need a waitress for tomorrow. But I hope you learned your lesson, you dumbass. Now, get out of my sight."

I stood up as quickly as I could, which caused my back to sting more when I straightened it. I walked briskly to my room, and went to the mirror to assess the damage. My back was shades of pink and red, with gashes of blood in between. The skin was sensitive; it hurt when I touched it. Although it was bad, it was not as bad as the last time this happened. I washed my back with cold water and lots of soap. After I dried myself off, I sat down on the bed and put my pajama shirt on. I decided to call Percy and tell him I couldn't come. I got out the student directory, and called the number.

"Hello?" said a familiar adolescent voice.

"Nico? I thought I was calling Percy."

"He and his mom are living here, you know since we're cousins. I thought he told you that."

"He told me some of that. Is he there?"

"I'm pretty sure that Percy went shopping with his mom or something. Why do you need him?"

"Tell him I won't be able to make it tomorrow. Last minute family plans."

"Okay. Anything else?"

"Nope, that's it."

"Okay. Bye, Annabeth."

"Bye, Nico." I hung the phone up, feeling depressed. With everything that happened today, I just want to cry. Only, I don't want to cry. I want to do something more than cry.

And not in a good way.

I see the extra razorblade that I bought for Reed on the bathroom counter. I pick it up and take a good look at it. It's sliver, small, and has a sharp edge. I look at the mirror in front of me. The girl in front of me is dead. She is pale, tired, and her eyes show defeat. She is not the happy, smart, funny girl who I see in the reflections at school.

I bring the blade to my wrist. I press hard, so that it sinks into my flesh. In one quick movement, I slide the blade across my wrist, leaving a trail of red. I repeat this action several times, moving up my arms_. _I felt strangely satisfied. _ I can't believe I'm doing this. _I think. Droplets of red trickle down my arms, staining the rug under my feet red. After 7 cuts, I put the razor down, suddenly terrified. What did I just do? When I'm in the apartment, it's usually Reed who causes my physical pain. It's never me who's done it. Never.

But that had changed.

I sit down on my bed, watching my blood flow down my arms. I can't help thinking that I deserve this. I deserve everything that's ever happened to me. All of this was my fault. I didn't follow Reed's orders, so he punished me. And now, I'm punishing myself.

I can't think straight. Everything that's happened today has clouded my perception. But I do know that I have to treat these wounds; I can't risk an infection. I wash my wrist, then walk over to the drawer with the medical stuff. I take out some antibacterial ointment, and apply to my back. Then, I bandage both my back and wrist.

I take the bottle of pills out. I pour four of them into my hand. I roll them around on my palm. The idea is so tempting, to just alleviate the pain. This situation is like being in a top-security prison for twenty years. I want out. Now. These pills could be my escape from this hellhole. Slowly, I bring my hand toward mouth. The edge of my hand is touching my lips. It is at that moment I realize I do not need physical healing so much as I need physiological healing.

I dump the pills back into the bottle, as I always have. I sit on the edge of the bed, knowing that I desperately need comfort. But I don't do anything. I'm a coward.

I'm worthless. A lost cause. Insignificant. Useless.

Sighing, I put on my pajamas. I decide to skip on the brushing and flossing and crawl under the covers. I remember when my mom used to tuck me into bed.

"_Just one more story?" _

_I was begging my mom to read another story from the Big Book of Greek Myths. We had just finished the myth about Hermes stealing Apollo's cattle. _

"_Annabeth, you have school tomorrow." she said. "You'll want to get your sleep so that you can grow tall. Giant! As big as a plane!" _

_I giggled at the thought of being a giant, looking down at the tiny people that looked like ants. "But just one more? Please?" I did my best puppy dog face. It must have worked, because my mom smiled and replied, "Fine, just one more." I clapped and shrieked "Yay!" Mom flipped to the table of contents. _

"_What myth do you want to read? The one about Perseus, Theseus, or Hercules?" _

"_I don't think we read about Perseus, Mommy!" _

_She smiled, looking radiant as Helios. "Okay, we'll read about Perseus." She flipped to the page that was titled Perseus and His Adventures. There were two pictures side-by-side. One showed a man wielding a polished bronze shield, a sword, and wearing sandals. He was in front of a cave, standing behind a body with no head. He was also holding a head with snake for hair. The second picture showed a girl chained to a rock, a sea monster looming above her. The man was shown again, flying the air toward the monster. _

_Mom started to read. "Perseus, in Greek mythology, son of Zeus and Danaë. His grandfather, Acrisius, had been warned by an oracle that his grandson would kill him and therefore put Perseus and his mother in a chest and threw it into the sea. It drifted to Seriphus, where King Polydectes befriended the two. After a time Polydectes fell in love with Danaë but was embarrassed by the presence of her full-grown son. He sent Perseus to fetch the head of the Gorgon Medusa, thinking that Perseus would die in the attempt." _

"_That's mean!" I interjected. _

"_Yes it is," said my mom. "But love and self-protection drives people to do crazy things. But I guess self-protection is basically love for oneself." _

"_So like Narcissus?" I asked. _

"_Well, not exactly. Narcissus loved himself _too_ much. Every human needs to love themselves at least a little. Now, let's keep reading." _

"_The gods, however, loved Perseus. Hermes gave him a curved sword and winged sandals, Athena a mirrorlike shield, and Hades a helmet that made Perseus invisible. Thus armed, Perseus slew Medusa. While fleeing the other Gorgons, Medusa's sisters, Perseus asked Atlas for help. Atlas refused, and Perseus, by means of the Medusa head, promptly turned him into a mountain of stone."_

"_On his way home Perseus rescued Andromeda from a sea monster and married her. When he arrived in Seriphus, he killed Polydectes and his followers. He then gave the Medusa head to Athena. He went with his mother and his wife to Argos. There, while competing in a discus contest, Perseus accidentally killed his grandfather. Thus the prophecy was fulfilled." _

_My dad popped his head in. "Annabeth, I thought you were asleep!" _

"_Sorry, Fredrick." My mom said. "She begged me to read one more myth." _

_My dad smiled. "One day, your head will explode form all that Greek knowledge." _

"_Mommy, can you tuck me in?" _

_Mom smiled again. "Okay." She pulled the blanket up to my chin, then kissed my forehead. "Sleep tight." _

_She got off the bed, and turned off the light on her way out. I closed my eyes, dreaming about a prince named Perseus saving me. _

I remember when my mom used to care about me.

I turned on my lamp since it was starting to get dark. I picked up the book on my nightstand, which was called Skinny. I read the summary on the book flap.

_Hopeless. Freak. Elephant. Pitiful. These are the words of Skinny, the vicious voice that lives inside fifteen-year-old Ever Davies's head. Skinny tells Ever all the dark thoughts her classmates have about her. Ever knows she weighs over three hundred pounds, knows she'll probably never be loved, and Skinny makes sure she never forgets it. But there is another voice. Ever's singing voice, which is beautiful but has always been silenced by Skinny. Partly in hopes of trying out for the school musical—and partly to try and save her own life—Ever decides to undergo a risky surgery that may help her lose weight and start over. With the support of her best friend, Ever begins the uphill battle toward change. But demons, she finds, are not so easy to shake, not even as she sheds pounds. Because Skinny is still around. And Ever will have to confront that voice before she can truly find her own. _

_Sounds like me._ I think. I decide to give it a ry.

I end up staying up all night to finish it.

* * *

**By the way, I recommend you read Skinny. It's a pretty good book in my opinion. It's by Donna Cooner. **

**That was the longest chapter I've ever written! Yay! **

**So, tell me what you thought! **

**Leave suggestions for songs in the reviews, I'm kind of music limited. **

**Review, Follow, and Favorite please!**


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